Lillian Townsend-Reeves started competing in pageants as a girl, learning confidence and self worth while helping her transform from a shy teen to an outgoing woman.

"It ended up completely changing my life," she said.

In the five years she competed, Townsend-Reeves couldn't help but notice her best friend Lauren Murphree, who had cerebral palsy, did not have those same opportunities. Townsend-Reeves decided to make those life-defining moments available for others like Murphree.

In 2013, the special education major at Texas A&M University started the Miss Magnificent Pageant in North Texas to give those with special needs the chance to let their beauty shine despite their disabilities.

Three years later, the organization, which has spread to College Station and San Antonio, will bring its free event to Corpus Christi on Saturday, May 28.

One of the reasons the pageant has become so widely welcome — with plans to spread to Florida and Louisiana — is the rarity of events available to people with special needs, Townsend-Reeves said.

"One thing that separates it from other pageants is that everyone wins," Townsend-Reeves, 21, said. "Everyone gets a sash and crown no matter what."

When Corpus Christi native Audra Luna placed her daughter, Aliza, in the San Antonio pageant in 2015, she knew the event had to come home with her.

"It was the most amazing thing," Luna said. "They weren't being ridiculed; they weren't being judged — they were being themselves."

Two days after the event, Luna contacted Townsend-Reeves, and the two began making plans. Within weeks, Stripes and Recio's Smokehouse and Catering became sponsors.

Contestants will grace the stage and showcase his or her unique talent. Past contestants have built Lego castles, made blankets, sang and demonstrated taekwondo.

Because children respond to the event in multiple ways, the talent portion allows others to be on stage with the contestant.

"Not everyone has talents that can be showcased in a conventional way," the organizer said.

The event also caters to contestants who are nonverbal. Each registration includes information like the contestant's favorite color, hobbies and ambitions to be read aloud if needed.

"Some of the best reactions are from the parents because their child is constantly being told they can't do it," Townsend-Reeves said. "They're so excited because now their kid gets to be in the spotlight instead of the corner."

That sentiment holds true for Crystal Levine, who registered her twin daughters — Alyssa and Ava Hernandez — when she found out about the pageant's inaugural event in Corpus Christi.

"I just try to keep them as normal as possible," Hernandez said.

Registration for the pageant will remain open until Friday.

"That moment when (the kids) run and tell their parents 'Look what I did' — that's the best part," Townsend-Reeves said.

Twitter: @Caller_Esther

IF YOU GO

What: Miss Magnificent Pageant

When: Registration ends Friday; pageant is at noon on Saturday, May 28